Hellfire
by Draco Dragunov
Summary: She can feel him watching her, listening to her, and invading her. There's something connecting them, an accidental parting gift from her father that has bonded the two of them in mind and body. He's inside her mind, and it's burning her like hellfire.
1. Prelude

Authors Note:

This is an introduction into the story, and it basically highlights the important parts of the episode "Birthmark" and sets the premise for the story while adding my own narrative to it. Don't be fooled, this particular chapter is 5 pages long. I've already begun writing chapter one, but I am definitely looking for suggestions, so if you have any, please feel free to review and let me know your suggestions.

* * *

"The report simply stated there was an intruder." Starfire stated, her eyes looking warily around her, scoping the warehouse for any signs of danger. Beastboy, sensing her anxiety, chirped in optimistically.

"Well whoever it is, we're going to totally kick their-"

However, his sentence was cut short by a break in his windpipe, cause by an abrupt stop by an obviously jolted teammate. Robin stood directly in front of him, holding his arm out instinctively. His body was tensed, adrenaline coursing through his veins. There was an impossible stillness in the air, one that Robin hadn't felt in over a year. Not since...

'_No, it's not possible. There's absolutely no way...' _

His worst fears were confirmed when a velvety, baritone voice laced through the air, breaking the silence

"It's been a long, long time hasn't it, Titans?"

_**Hellfire**_

* * *

Raven and Slade were catapulting toward a building, gaining speed at an alarming rate. She braced herself for the impact, slamming her eyes shut. She could feel Slade's tight grip on her shoulder blades, forcing her downward with all his weight with the help of gravity. They landed with a force of a small explosion on the rooftop, sending shingles and small chunks of brick flying everywhere. She used all her strength to shift his massive form off of her, using all her remaining willpower to shut out the pain, using her hands to gain momentum as she tried to escape. Adrenaline was slamming into her system, making her dizzy and nauseous. Her shaking hands gripped at the concrete of the rooftop, looking for any wedge or cranny that might aid her escape. Deep down, she knew this was futile.

Slade emerged from the explosion, showing no signs of slowing to Raven's dismay. A cloud of smoke billowed around him like a harbinger of death. She began to run, forcing her quivering legs to carry her as fast as they possibly could from the tall, gaunt figure behind her. He reached a cold, metallic hand toward her, easily grabbing her by the hood of her cloak. She tried to shake his grip from her, but he refused to let her go.

"What you have concealed, you will become." His voice bellowed from the rooftops. He ripped her cloak from her back, letting the small slivers of violet fabric float to the ground around her. Her leotard ebbed downward, tearing a large portion of her uniform off. She fell to the ground, letting her elbows catch her fall. Her moonlight skin glimmered, rejecting the light bearing down her exposed back. She felt a searing pain as the air struck her skin. The Mark of Scath bore into her skin, glowing a deep and foreboding red.

Against her better judgment, she turned to look at him. Her eyes were wide with fear and anger, her mouth was agape. He stood just behind her, his eye staring into her. He was far from finished with her. The message would be delivered.

"You have no other choice." His voice was demanding, like fathers would be. She felt a surge of anger pulse through her. How dare he talk to her like that, like someone who had power over her. Her eyes began to glow a fierce ivory as she pushed herself off the ground, ready for battle once more.

"No!" She yelled fiercely. Her voice reflected her rejection of her destiny. She ran toward him with all of her remaining strength, her entire body aglow with a brilliant black fire. She reached a small, yet powerful hand toward him, hell-bent on striking him. He, however, caught it with ease, almost laughing at the feeble attempt. Her hand was so small and weak compared to his. His right hand alone could have easily taken up her midriff. He had to admit he was impressed at the power behind the attack. He could feel the energy surging through her, connecting and battling with his own, causing a small electric shock to run down his spine. She was a cornered animal, beaten and bruised, ready to fight primal. She kept forcing her hand closer to him, her entire body shaking with force, angry that he could so easily deflect the blow.

"The message _will_ be delivered."

His voice was soft and calm, so contrasted to the moment. It ran like thick velvet through her mind, sending a shiver down her back. There was a forceful, threatening quality to it. The fact that he remained so stoic only added more horror to the quality. The fact that he was genuinely frightening her made her fight him harder. She threw another hand toward him, but it became apparent rather quickly that this too was futile.

"Your destiny shall be fulfilled."

Suddenly, an immensely powerful shockwave pulsated through both their bodies. His hands shook as he held her own fragile body. She felt and incredibly powerful force run through her frame as she lost control. Her entire torso threw backward, and a red bolt of energy shot from her eyes. She yelled in fear, unable to place the sensation that had taken a hold of her. Lightning raced through her veins, paralyzing her muscles and disabling any voluntary movement. She felt the air around her grow cold, and her body felt more of the breeze than she invited. Her body burned with Scath, searing her pale skin. Her leotard unraveled itself, pulling and yanking upon its own threading. It ripped violently from her lithe frame, leaving her arms and entire midsection exposed, revealing an ancient and damning language written in blood upon her body. The small fragments of fabric that remained fell into shreds around her feet.

He held her delicate wrists tightly in his hand, keeping her body from seizing up and thrashing wildly. Unbelievable amounts of power were radiating off the couple, causing a ripple in the air as time stood still. The mixing of their energy, hers a right of birth, and his gift from Trigon was causing a catalytic event in the time chain. Day became night and back again as time raced forward at an impossible rate. Raven grit her teeth and yelped in pain as she felt a burning itch in her scalp, feeling the light tickle of her violet tresses gracing her back and bangs that had originally been short gaining length at an alarming rate, whipping against her face and neck. Her body began to ache and swell with the wounds of battle, and then heal themselves as time would have done normally.

Slade felt the surge of lightning as the energies collided, reveling in the dry and unbridled power that came from the young woman's body. Her long indigo hair swirled around her, her eyes wielded shut, gritting teeth to block out the pain of the moment. His eyes drifted to admire his handiwork, the Mark of Scath burning brightly, the tale of the end days imbedded into her lovely, glimmering ivory skin. He took heed to the fact that her clothes had fallen around her, his eye immediately drifting upward toward her pain stricken face.

Night fell around them, cloaking them in darkness and he released her wrists, allowing her frail body to fall to the ground onto her knees. Her arms instinctively fell around her waist, covering her exposed body. Her eyes were still clutched tightly shut as she dug her nails into her arms, wishing this away in vain. The surge had taken what little energy she had left out of her, leaving her weak and defenseless upon the ground. Pain seared throughout her entire body, as if someone had set her ablaze. She hesitantly opened her eyes, and beheld her skin in horror. Crimson, shining letters of a language long forgotten were engraved into her skin, blazing like hellfire. However, it wasn't long until her eyes were drawn upward toward the apocalyptic scene around her.

The sky was a terrible blood red, tainted by fires and smoke that blotted the land around her. Grand buildings and structures that once stood proudly in the sky like a beacon of hope and grandeur had crumbled and fallen like dominoes, leaving only the bare minimum of crumbled steel and brick in broken piles of rubble, remnants of what had once been. The skyline of the ocean had been replaced with bubbling vats of magma and spitting fire. To her absolute horror, the Titans Tower slumped over, a broken and degraded fragment of its true form. Windows had been heat-broken and its structure compromised by the lake of destruction surrounding it.

The people of Jump City were not but statues, their bodies forever imbedded into the Earth in their last terrible moment of living, their mouths and eyes widened in fear as they tried to escape their fate. They had been turned to pumice, and stood crumbling like fragile rocks falling from a cliff into a crevice. However, the site and took her last breath was the site of the Titans, her friends and family, engraved into stone as well. Twisted concrete vines held them forever into place, veining around their feet and arms that were clawing toward the sky for freedom.

Raven surveyed her surroundings in disbelief, refusing to take in the horrors. Her head swung from side to side, her eyes scanning rapidly for any signs of relief. She couldn't escape this nightmare, it was all around her. The creeping feeling of nausea clawed its way up into her throat once more, her lungs restricting and gasping for air.

"No… No!" She pleaded to the sky, biting her lip, holding back tears.

"Oh yes." That terrible voice cooed again, soft and terrible like a madman's lullaby. Slade. She had forgotten that he was standing near her. He allowed her eyes to take in the scene as he stepped toward her. She whirled toward him again, her eyes widened in fear. She became very aware of just how revealed she was and looked self consciously at him, putting her hand out in a vain attempt to keep him from coming any closer.

"Look at it," he seemed completely unaware of her exposed frame as he looked admirably around at the vision of death and destruction that held before him. "Drink it in. Behold the world you are destined to create."

In the distance, she saw the silhouette of her Father roaring victoriously to the sky, his massive body stepping on the rubble like a child in a playhouse. Her eyes narrowed in anger when she saw Trigon eying his new kingdom, and feelings of uncontrollable rage fell over her.

"No! I won't do it! This is just a vision! This _can't_ be real!" She yelled. Her head pounded with a fierce pain as her emotions ran out of check. She grabbed her head, feeling faint, and staggered slightly. She felt herself begin to hyperventilate. Slade grabbed her shoulders to steady her, slithering his fingers in between her arms and her ribcage and pulling her close to his chest. He put his head down between her shoulders, and dug his fingers deeper into her skin when she tried to push away.

"Oh this is the future," he cooed. "Your future. It began the day you were born." He put his face closer to her ear and she felt his breath exit the holes in his mask onto her neck. "And nothing can stop it." He spoke the last sentence to her like one would speak to an intimate lover. "This will come to pass. I will make sure of it." He purred into her ear. "You're going to destroy the _world_, Raven…" She choked back tears as she felt him creeping closer to her. She could feel the warmth exhuming from his suit and onto her skin, sending a creeping wave of Goosebumps up her spine. "It's written all over your face." He gave a terrible and cruel laugh as she slammed her eyes shut again. She felt dizzy, and cold, but most of all alone. She gave a fierce exhale and struggled against him.

"NO!" She cried the sounds of her yell reverberating off the steel frames of the buildings and down into the city, breaking the deafening silence. Waves and waves of raw power flew from her body, sending ringlets of black fire out around her. Slade was sent back, caught up in her whirlwind of power. A gigantic plane of negative energy was sent out from her chakra, flying over the landscape and breaking up the apocalyptic vision. He watched as everything it touched was returned to the former state it had been several minutes earlier, the bloodied skies turning its normal nighttime hue of cerulean and the buildings were returned to their former glory. People became animate once more, looking unaware and blissfully ignorant to the nightmare that had been before them just seconds earlier.

He couldn't help but stand and admire her display of absolutely unabridged power. She was absolutely magnificent. Every pore of her glimmering skin radiated raw power and emotion, sending out a desperate message that even his cold heart could receive. Her deep purple eyes blinking back tears as she pleaded with forces unknown. Her long violet locks twirled unregulated around her, flowing with the wind and catching themselves on the torn fragments of her clothing that barely covered her mature form.

He had never seen this particular Titan show any form of emotion at all. She had always reminded him of himself in that aspect. She was always regulated, calm, and never allowed herself to be tricked easily into flights of frenzy, unlike his previous play toys Robin and Terra. This powerful display of pure emotion caught him off guard, and made an unawakened part of his body yearn for something he couldn't quite place. He wanted it for himself, he wanted _her._ He wanted to snuff it out. He wanted to end it, and crush it between his fingers. He wanted to destroy it. Nothing this lovely pure should be able to exist. Not in this cold and corrupted world.

As quickly as she rose, she fainted and quickly hit the steel rooftop. She was knocked out cold, too weary to carry on or defend herself. He picked her up by the small of her back, cradling her fragile neck in his large hand. When he had her standing, he held her back from the roofs edge by her arms once more. Her limp body fell loosely into his arms, her warmth pulsating into his metallic armor. Her hair whipped around lightly into the wind, catching the light of the moon on the violent purple strands. Her skin was illuminated still by the scarlet words written down her frame, the glow starting to fade lightly.

'_Such a pretty bird.' _Slade thought to himself as he held her frail body in his hands. _'Let's see if she can fly.'_ He pulled her closer once more, nuzzling his head into the crane of her neck once more.

"We'll be in touch." He told her. His words were cold and dry. His eye was devoid of emotion as he released his grip and let the young girl fall off the rooftop and toward the concrete. "Oh, and happy birthday."

Her hair billowing around her frame as she fell, her arms limply reaching toward the sky. He watched her as she plummeted toward the Earth. She shouldn't be allowed to live. Not here, not for this existence. He felt something strange as he watched her fall. Something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He felt pity.

He, however, wasn't surprised when he saw Robin swing from the rafters of a nearby building and scoop the damsel into his arms.

'_Birds of a feather.' _He thought to himself facetiously.

Robin looked back towards the rooftops for him, but he was already gone. He knew Robin would be more concerned about getting his little Raven to safety than he would be about hunting him down. If there was one thing Slade knew how to do, it was disappear.

He walked along the rooftops, back from whence he came to report his success. He pondered his "feelings" about the violet eyed woman. He prided himself on being devoid of emotion, and even more so on his hatred of the Titans. He had never so much as given a second thought to the witch before tonight. He also knew he had never seen the full extend of her power until then. He lusted after it, wanted it for his own. One could do a lot of damage with ability like that. It impressed him that she was able to hide such talent with such ease. He had never quite known who or what she was, but he had always figured it wasn't anything special. Another alien perhaps, or some sort of cliché radiation disaster. He had no idea she was the daughter of a deity. He never would have known if it hadn't been a stroke of luck. Had he known it sooner, he would have chosen her over that teenage hormonal wreck and imbecile Terra. None of it would matter soon anyways.

He laughed to himself, finding it somewhat ironic that someone who tried so hard to be such a good person was destined to be the harbinger of the apocalypse.


	2. Hello little girl

Authors Note: _**URGENT**_

Okay, well I hope my readers in question read these little notes, because sometimes they're important. Much like this one.

If you paid attention to my last note, you will know that the last chapter just sets the basis for the story, and is quite literally a rewording of the Teen Titans episode "Birthmark" with my own little lacing on it. This story does not take place during "The End", but after it. I simply wrote during "Birthmark" to give the story a basis and set the mood for the story. The story itself takes place about a month after Trigon's defeat, and I have decided to nullify any actual episode story basis immediate after "The End". That means there's no Brotherhood of Evil, no Terra returning (I dislike Terra immensely, so please don't ask if she'll have a place in the story, because she won't.), and no other events I may have neglected to mention. Everything is going rather swimmingly for the Titans, for now.

Please keep in mind, it's been a while since Titans has been on TV so what I write may clash a little with the actual show, just I'll try my best to keep those small because they are accidents.

(PS, this will not be a fast-paced romance with Slade and Raven, and as it stands, I am not planning any out-of-character silly fluff. In fact, as it stands, it's going to be more of a one sided force type story. He gets too close, it makes her uncomfortable, and he finds it a great motivator. I _may_ evolve it into an eventual actual romance, but I'll try to keep it very character friendly.

_**Hellfire: Chapter One**_

* * *

She walked along the pathway through the glimmering cosmos, the pathway extending infinitely in front of her. The stars shined brilliantly as diamonds strewn across a black satin blanket. But this wasn't just any galaxy. This was Raven's own galaxy. Her mind and her only truly private space. She cherished every moment she spent here, gathering her emotions and sorting her thoughts. When she meditated, she felt at peace and wholly aware of her emotions, allowing her to fully control her own body and reactions. However, on this particular night, she was not meditating, but in fact sleeping. Raven had a sleeping dreamland that was similar to her waking one, yet she didn't have to concentrate her thoughts here; it was an automatic response similar to the ones that a human might feel when dreaming. Often times, her dreams simply consisted of her walking along the pathway infinitely, never thinking or stopping to consider her surroundings. Just the simple and serene scenery and the momentary relief of not having to worry when her inner evil may reveal itself. It was rare that a dream might occur that didn't follow the patterns of the others.

However, recently she had felt a disturbance in her dreamland. Her waking mind could not place it. It was subtle, yet noticeable difference that she could not quite place her finger on. She felt as though her sanctuary had been tampered with in some manner. The diamond lit sky didn't shine as brilliantly as it had before; the stars seemed tarnished and somehow tainted by darkness. The black matter seemed darker than average, making her feel as though the space around her was somehow threatening. Even the rocks that led her to and from her non-existent destination seemed somehow foreboding and dangerous. Her biggest clue was that she was consciously acknowledging the change, thinking to herself how something was off. This was a rare occurrence in her dreams that she would feel herself consciously thinking

She felt a storm brewing on the horizon. After all, a change in her mind's sanctuary most typically meant a change in her mental state. She had meditated for hours and still could not find the source of the turbulence. Something in her own mind was evading her. She could not feel it, but instead sense it. Whenever she tried to reach for it, it would disappear back into oblivion. She would run after it in vain, as it would fade into the distance, and eventually disappear. The closer she became, she further she felt. Something was invading her mind, her private space, and making her feel violated. This seriously disturbed her, and she became determined to find the source.

Ever since she, with the help of her fellow Titans had defeated Trigon, things had been relatively calm in Jump City. A few amateur criminals here, a few robberies there. Overall, things were going well for the city as a whole. There was no more impending doom looming over her shoulder. No more Trigon, the incarnation of evil itself whispering prophesies of doom into her ear. No more bowing to anyone's will but her own. For the love of Azar, she could not understand why her beloved sanctuary had suddenly become desecrated and laced with something that felt angry, and almost desperate, like a caged animal fighting for freedom and release.

On this particular night, she refused the urge to investigate. For nights and nights she had chased the source of the taint and had come up empty handed. She chose to accept the fact that it was most likely the fact that she had some remaining struggle accepting Trigon's defeat, and perhaps was still coming to terms with the fact that he was permanently banished back to another plane of existence. She simply hoped that it would fade given time, and that eventually her mind would return to normal after enough time had passed and given her time to cope.

She found herself grazing the pathway, walking infinitely forward like she had so many times before. Her empty stare bore into every crack and slip embedded into the rock way below her, walking mindlessly onward and enjoying the peace and silence that her own mind had to offer. Her head was thoughtless; she simply accepted the calming silence that her vision of the cosmos had to offer. She thought nothing of the disturbance or its cause when she slept, refusing to acknowledge the breach until it made itself apparent.

She found the pathway was crumbling and dilapidated, winding and twisting onto what seemed like forever. She thought little of it, and continued onward. One by one she placed her feet in front of the other, her actions on complete autopilot. She was in a complete trancelike state as she often was in her sleep, her mind lost in subconscious thought. Small traces of rock crumbled underneath her feet, the pathway becoming more and more treacherous and she gracefully stepped forward paying little attention to the path before her feet. She simply continued walking forward, placing little thought into the past or future.

All of the sudden in one quick moment, she felt her foot slip onto an unstable stepping stone, and she felt the rock beneath her feet wither and give way beneath her. Her eyes widened as she felt herself begin to fall into never ending space. She sent her arms out, grasping for any bit of solid ground that she could grasp. Her breathing quickened and she felt adrenaline begin to filer itself into her system. Her nails were desperately clinging onto any nook they could find as she stared down into the infinite darkness that fell below her. Her heart pounding savagely, she felt the fear ravaging her body, making her plead for mercy and beg for an escape.

In one swift movement, the rock she had been desperately clinging to started to give way to her weight and small chunks began their plummet into space. She clenched her teeth as that sinking feeling took way over her stomach and curled her insides. She yelled out, hoping that someone would hear her cries of fear and desperation. Deep down, she knew her cries were in vain. No matter how loud she yelled, she knew her terrified screams were in vain. In this world, she was alone and no one would save her. No one was there.

Her fingers clawed at the rock, grasping for anything stable enough to heave herself back onto the pavement. Her nails inched closer and closer to the edge, panic rising in her throat. She looked down, and faced infinite blackness. She felt her stomach churn, nausea creeping its way in. Her hand was running out of strength, and there was less than an inch between her and the dark decent. She clamped her eyes shut, finger by finger losing its place on the path. Suddenly, she fell, screaming as she plunged deep into the abyss.

* * *

Raven awoke with a jolt and violently shifted herself upright. She felt sickeningly warm, and sweat was pouring itself down her body and sticking itself uncomfortably to her leotard. Her breathing was sporadic and uneven, and her heart was racing inside her chest. She clutched the middle of her breasts in a vain attempt to slow her heart rate as she looked cautiously around her room. She remembered little about the dream, except the feeling of inevitable panic and doom. She took several deep breaths and tried to calm herself.

Nightmares were definitely a sign that something was off in her mind. Raven often suffered night terrors under her father's tyrannical grasp, but had felt a recent freedom ever since he had been banished. She almost never remembered her dreams, and she most definitely preferred that over the constant tossing and turning of ever vigilant nightmares that plagued her thoughts whence she slept. The fact that she had been feeling fears clutch in her sleeping world once again worried her. She put a lot of effort into making sure that she was constantly in touch with her inner feelings and emotions, and nightmares were a sign that something was evading her sight.

Raven glanced over toward the window and saw a gentle ray of sunlight making its way through the curtains hung in her room, illuminating the grey room with a soft trickle of light. She sighed and figured that going back to bed would be fruitless at this point. With evading another nightmare in mind, she slowly raised herself off her bed and headed toward the closet, reaching for the nearest violet cloak.

Raven made her way up to the roof, tiptoeing past her fellow Titan's rooms, making her best effort not to wake them. She slowly crept her way up the steps, making her way to the door leading out onto the immense balcony overlooking Jump City. She pushed the large door open, revealing the beginnings of a sunrise of a brand new day. Glorious hues of scarlet and orange made their way over the steel, reflective rooftop, warming Raven's alabaster skin to the touch. She looked out over the mountains, seeing the tip of the sun make its way over the tops of the mountain, gently gracing the valley and ocean with its forgiving warmth, cleansing the sins of the city once more.

Raven heard the gentle patter of the soles of her boots make contact with the steel flooring of the roof. The light clank of her footsteps was a refreshing change from the dead silence of her room. She walked steadily toward the roof's edge that overlooked the largest part of the city from over the small part of the ocean which sat between Titan Island and the city which had yet to be awakened. There were few cars on the street, and the sidewalks remained empty of people. Instead, they hosted an array of morning song birds and seagulls that pecked and scattered, looking for their morning meal, left over from the citizens the night before.

She took a deep inhale and looked toward the ocean. It would be several hours until most of the titans were out of bed and awake for the most part. She contemplated going back to her room and sleeping, but the remnants of the dream easily shifted her from that train of thought. She looked at the soft waves lightly brushing the beach's surface and found them hypnotizing, and somewhat tiring. She gave in to the second best thing, and eventually sat down on the metal plating, crossed her legs and began to attempt meditating.

As she evened out her breathing and began to ready herself for meditation, she heard the loud clunk of an iron door behind her. Someone else was on the roof with her. She opened her eyes and warily gazed behind her. Robin stood in the doorway, eyeing her with a curious look behind his mask.

"Up nice and early today, huh?" Robin said, walking toward her.

"I guess you could say I couldn't sleep." Raven's voice was emotionless and distant. To be honest, she wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone this early, let alone after a night like this. She had really been hoping that Robin the early bird wouldn't notice her empty room.

"Restless night? You haven't had one of those in a while." His eyes turned toward the sea as he clutched his hands on the railing. He had always been up at 6am for as long as Raven could remember. Sometimes between sleep sessions she could hear him training in the gym as early as 6:30 or 7am, the thuds and creaks of the punching bags sending loud vibrations throughout the tower. She wasn't awake to know what he did with the rest of his mornings. She probably should have guessed that the rooftop might have been a daily morning ritual for him. Maybe she should have chosen somewhere a little more private to fight her inner battles.

"I guess you could say that." Something in her voice must've clued him in to her distressed emotional state, because he turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Raven, it's been almost a month since we… Since_ you_ defeated Trigon." He knew better then to refer to him as 'her father'. "I know it's probably kind of a private subject, but you haven't opened up to any one about it, and if I had to guess, that's probably something pretty emotionally devastating. Maybe your psyche is having some trouble coping with it."

She knew exactly where this was going, and she didn't want to go there. She cared for Robin a lot, but she just wasn't ready to talk about something like this yet, maybe not ever. She just wanted him to drop it.

"Look Robin… I know you mean well, but…" she quickly reworded her thought. "It's fine. I'm everything but elated that he's gone, and that all of humanity is safe. He never really was anything to me except a portion of a creator. He was never a father."

"I know, but still. That's a pretty big thing to deal with. He had been inside your mind for your entire life, for as long as you could remember. Maybe your mind is just having a bit of trouble coping to your new freedoms." He looked back out at the bay. The sun was beginning to shine off the waves of the ocean, dying small portions of the water a deep red hue.

"Maybe you're right. Either way, it's really not a big deal." She forced a small smile in his direction. "I'm sure it'll come to pass." He looked at her with uncertainty and a small hint of doubt. She guessed that he knew she wasn't telling him the full truth. However, she also knew that he wouldn't push it. He knew she would talk to him about it when she was ready.

"Okay, Rae. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk about anything." He looked back at her. She could feel his stare from underneath his mask. To her relief, he turned away from the balcony and walked back toward the door. She kept her eyes facing the water, waiting for the door to close behind him. When she finally heard the thud of the large metal door against the frame, she sat back down and crossed her legs, placing her hands gently across her knees.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She chanted with Gregorian rhythm over and over again, trying to gain access into her inner sanction, determined to undermine the scourge that was sullying her peaceful rest. Light was shining brightly on her ivory skin, warming it to the touch. She tried to focus on a mental pendulum as she drifted further into concentration, watching it swing carelessly back and forth, back and forth, letting it hypnotize her.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

* * *

She was on the pathway once more, but this time she was consciously aware of her actions, and ready for whatever her mind may throw at her. She glanced at the overlooking stone statues that resembled the hoods of the monks of Azar that lightly dotted the path. Whatever was causing her so much distress must be hiding here somewhere. This path was only so wide, and in her mind, there was only room for one deity on this walkway. She began walking at a brisk pace, her indigo eyes darting around on the lookout for danger or anything unrecognized and unwelcome. She was careful to watch her step this time around, avoiding any cracks that looked overly suspicious or fragile. She was ever vigilant; she didn't miss a single movement or crevice that caught her eye, keeping her hands close to her body balled into fists in a constant battle stance.

She walked for what seemed like several hours until out of the corner of her eye, she kept seeing a small, darting object flying just out of her peripheral vision. It was a long shot lead, but she decided to follow it.

She sprang into action, running as fast as her legs could carry her after the object in question. It shot from side to side, swinging wildly around the Azarathian gates and under the pathway. Each time she would grab at it, it would be just out of her reach, yet so close she could feel the cool, metal grip in her hands. She was hesitant to send beams of black magic at it, in fear that she would destroy the clue in question, but she was running out of patience. After what must've been a half an hour of chasing the object to and fro, she became frustrated and sent a large black bolt at it, sending it crashing into the closest gateway. She ran to inspect the scene, her heart racing as she saw a small glint on the ground.

It had left a large, circular crater in the gate, so whatever it was, it was made of an incredibly strong metal. She picked up what felt like a smooth, metal stone that had been covered in dust and rock powder from the explosion. She looked down at it. It was a perfect circle, and felt like it had sharp edges. She held closer to her face, and began to rub the dust off with a small portion of her cloak. What looked to be a large letter came into view. It wasn't long before the stone was polished clean, and her heart sank. On the stone was engraved a large, intricate, caustic orange 'S'. This wasn't the first time she had seen one of these stones. In fact, it wasn't a stone at all. It was a bomb. It was at that moment that she heard that chilling, velvety baritone voice once more.

"Hello, little girl."


End file.
